The Natural Products Chemistry Section, LBC, NIDDK has several ongoing projects whose long term aim is to identify and design inhibitors and probes of HIV-1 Envelope-mediated cell fusion. These include the design and development of new gp41-derived peptides and proteins that have dual functions as inhibitors and immunogens, discovery and high resolution structural characterization of new carbohydrate binding proteins that potently inhibit HIV-1 Entry through carbohydrate-mediated interactions with gp120/gp41, discovery of natural product inhibitors of HIV-1 fusion, and structural and mechanistic studies of HIV-1 Envelope - coreceptor interactions.